Ingram awaits call from NFL team

Friday

Apr 24, 2009 at 6:09 PM

He was in Indianapolis for the biggest job interview of his life, and Cornelius Ingram knew he would be drilled with all sorts of questions as NFL teams dug deep, trying to get to know everything about him.

By John PattonStaff writer

HAWTHORNE - He was in Indianapolis for the biggest job interview of his life, and Cornelius Ingram knew he would be drilled with all sorts of questions as NFL teams dug deep, trying to get to know everything about him. Ingram was prepared to provide answers about the torn ACL that kept him out of his senior season (it's 100-percent) at Florida and whether he can be an effective in-line blocker at tight end (he knows he can improve with experience and believes he will). However, despite former Gator teammate Derrick Harvey telling Ingram to expect it, one question stumped the Hawthorne native. "If you could be one, what would you rather be: a dog or a cat?" Such is the NFL Combine, where three or four doctors per team pushed, pulled and twisted Ingram's surgically repaired left knee to the point where he quietly wondered if they might actually re-injure him. He also went through workouts and yes, interviews with coaches and front-office types. At times, it may have seemed tedious and Ingram still had his concerns about the ACL, so much so that he says he didn't go all out on the vertical jump because "I didn't want to land crazy." But every second was worth it because he was finally a football player again. "I was just glad to be there, getting a shot," Ingram said. Missing Florida's 2008 BCS championship season was difficult for Ingram, despite Gator coaches and players doing all they could to make sure he felt like he was a big part of the team. As well-intentioned as they were, Ingram said there were moments he questioned his decision to return to school for his senior year (the NFL Draft advisory board projected him as a second- or third-round selection last April). Ingram said he has no regrets now. Not about sticking around. Not even about skipping out on playing in the BCS title game against Oklahoma on Jan. 8. It had been decided by Gator coaches - with serious prompting from players - that Ingram would be the quarterback in the "victory formation" if UF was able to get the game to that point. All he would be asked to do was go in, take the snap and drop to a knee as the clock ran out. Ingram actually ran a few routes in full pads before the game before returning to the locker room with the rest of the team. There, he started getting antsy, knowing that if he jogged into Dolphin Stadium in uniform that he wouldn't be satisfied playing just one or two meaningless snaps. So, Ingram called his older brother and confidante, Greg Bowie, who was walking to his seat at the time. Ingram explained his emotional dilemma and Bowie told Ingram to do what he felt most comfortable doing. He decided to take off his pads and just watch, figuring the next time he played football, he wanted to really contribute. That day will arrive soon enough, as the draft kicks off today at 4 p.m. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock projects Ingram to go in the top-10 picks of the second round and ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay have given similar grades with all three saying they don't expect him to last past the third round. Like McShay and Mayock, Kiper said he thinks the athletic 6-foot-4, 246-pound Ingram can be a matchup problem for opposing defenses. "With his pass catching skills, (he) can be that H-back, he's almost a glorified (wide receiver)," Kiper said in a recent online chat. "He can run and has real good hands." Ingram said he has worked out for Baltimore, Miami (where he was joined by former UF teammates Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy), Philadelphia, Seattle and just eight days ago in Gainesville, New England Patriots' coach Bill Belichick. Though he avoids reading about the draft on the Internet, Ingram does know he's been the topic of a lot of conversation. "I hear stuff all the time as far as who you might play like, where you might be projected, what team you may go to," Ingram said. "I try not to listen to it. "I want to be Cornelius Ingram." Though as one NFL team knows now, he'd rather be a dog than a cat.Contact John Patton at 374-5074 or at pattonj@gvillesun.com.